Through research, I found a wide number of issues regarding task management, but I decided on focusing on a couple of key points: task chunking, progression tracking, and distraction removal. These features are captured within a simple theme, minimizing cognitive load and allowing for user flexibility.
Tranquility seeks to make the task manage process much more manageable by thoughtfully and cleanly implementing interfaces and features that address each of those key points.
I began with user interviews about the problem space to empathize with potential users and develop a scope for my problem statement. From there, I did research on current product solutions, and began to sketch my own solution ideas. After settling on a direction, I continued to refine my solutions into higher fidelity wireframes and prototypes, making sure to get feedback between each iteration.
To begin my exploration, I interviewed five participants, asking them questions about how they manage their tasks. This step was vital in helping me empathize with my potential userbase. As this project had an accelerated schedule, interviews were a resourceful way to get rich qualitative insights.
The primary objective of these user interviews were to understand:
1️⃣ The processes people go through to complete a task
2️⃣ How a person organizes and manages their task
3️⃣ Difficulties that a person may encounter when accomplishing a task
4️⃣Helpful features that may help streamline a person’s workflow.
My user interviews yielded a large amount of rich, qualitative insights. Therefore, it made the most sense to me to map these insights into an affinity board. By grouping interview answers into categories, I had an easier time uncovering patterns and key insights.
Through affinity mapping, I uncovered key, actionable insights, such as:
⭐Breaking down large tasks into smaller subtasks can make it easier to handle
⭐Simpler functionality is easier to navigate and use
⭐Good progression feedback and help push people towards finishing their tasks
⭐People are very hard on themselves when they don't finish their tasks to their expectations
⭐Mobile devices are full of distractions because of other apps, leading to delays and procrastination
I synthesized my insights uncovered from exploratory research, framing it into a 'How Might I?" problem statement:
❓How might I design a mobile solution to address the fatigue of task management, by incorporating task chunking, limiting distractions, and invoking feelings of accomplishment?
I conducted a competitive analysis to learn about how other products have approached the problem space of task management. Through a competitive analysis, I can understand the strengths and weaknesses of direct and indirect competitors. This will help inform me of opportunities I can capitalize on, while identifying pitfalls to avoid.
Direct competitors were Focus Keeper, Structured, and Forest, where their apps focused on both task creation as well as focused work sessions.
Indirect competitors such as Notes and Google Tasks featured a simple interface and quick checklist functionalities, while Asana had a plethora of task management features, such as task delegation, chunking, as well as a pleasing interface. Notion had amazing customizability and interviewees frequently brought it up, but it was a bit too feature-dense for my use case.
To compare the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor, I created a competitive matrix to track core offerings which I felt were relevant to my problem statement.
Based on my competitive analysis, strengths I wanted to capitalize on were:
🟢Allow users to create and chunk tasks
🟢Utilize a timed focus session to facilitate task completion and reduce distractions
🟢Feature a simple user interface with only essential functionalities, reducing clutter
In addition, pitfalls I looked to avoid included:
🔴An overly complicated user interface that was hard for beginners
🔴A feature-dense product that distracted users from their goals
🔴A simple checklist was not enough, due dates and chunking were essential to task management
Guided by the problem statement and informed by the competitive analysis, I began to brainstorm potential solutions and interfaces.
Some principles I kept in mind from earlier research were: task chunking, progression indicators, distraction-free modes, as well as positive affirmation.
As I was sketching and brainstorming, there were key design questions I asked myself:
🟡I wanted to emphasize and visualize daily task completion. How was I going to create a Home interface that showed tasks that users completed today while also allowing users to view and complete tasks for a different due date?
🟡I know I want a distraction-free, concentration-based mode. How can I elevate that mode from just a simple timer?
I kept these points in mind when refining my sketches into wireframes.
To visualize the user's experience as well as provide a framework for my wireframes, I created a user flow, capturing key functionalities of my app.
As illustrated in the user flow, my product's main functions will be task creation and task completion.
Oh yeah, I should give my product a name. I want my app to instill feelings of calmness, focus, as well as satisfaction, back to the users.
I'll name this product Tranquility.
Utilizing the User Flow as a guide, I created wireframes for the main features of my app. Rather than focusing on visuals, I put emphasis on functionality and flow, first validating whether my product made sense.
My fellow classmates provided feedback on my wireframes at this point, granting me direction on what's working as well as what's to be improved.
💬"The format of the concentration screens matches the function nicely - they're clean and uncluttered, allowing the user to focus on their task instead of getting distracted. Using the pomodoro method is a nice touch too."
💬"I see that you have a calendar already which is great but I think it could be really helpful to incorporate a calendar with colored dots by class on each date where assignments are due?"
💬"When I set up a task list, I separate them into categories (by class for school, by project for work). It might be nice to have subgroupings for the tasks - maybe with tags?"
💬"In the Stats section, it would be cool too to see how many tasks I’ve completed over the course of the past week, etc. in a graph/visual way, as a way to build momentum."
💬"Question - for the subtasks, are the users able to add individual due dates? I can see that there's a "Finish by" section for the parent task, but sometimes it's nice to have milestones along to the way to ensure I'm on track. If you plan to build out the subtasks, that might be useful."
Keeping this points in mind, I continued on to create the visual direction of Tranquility through a design system.
A deep green and beige has been selected as the primary colors to provide a calming, natural outlook. Buttons and components have been rounded to be more user-friendly and contributes to a less-rigid interface. Typography has been checked for color contrast, ensuring that readbility is accessible and clear.
A simple and intuitive task creation interface allows users to organize what they have to do. Notably, many of the sections of 'Add Task' are optional, meaning that users have the freedom to organize tasks to their preferred level of detail.
User testing and peer feedback showed that users also preferred to add individual due dates for subtasks, which has been added as a feature.
On the concentrate page, users are able to set timers in order to focus on a selected task. This Pomodoro method-inspired screen aims to keep users accountable by providing a time block for productivity while also minimizing distractions.
Pausing is allowed, but can only be done if a user holds the button down, encouraging them to think twice before interrupting their concentration.
Breaks are incorporated in between concentration sessions to lower the buildup of mental fatigue.
Alternatively, users can open the Task Progress overlay on the concentration page, allowing for progression by checking off subtasks. Progress is visualized through a progression bar, and completed tasks are shown crossed off.
Users can also view their metrics for task completion and concentration duration, reminding users of their productivity.
Concentration settings can also be adjusted to the user's preferences.
Finally, a notification will appear if the user attempts to use another application while LOCK-IN is enabled.
Peer feedback at this stage was positive, giving me confidence that I'm heading into the right direction for my product.
💬"Checklist sidebar tracking progression: I feel like it's satisfying! I love checklists and checking off tasks so it would motivate me. Maybe you can add a fun animation once a checklist is complete. Asana does this well."
💬"I think your design reflects the key functions really well. I like the uncluttered, spacious feel to your app and I think it feels really intuitive for me."
💬"Hi Jason!! I wish we could incorporate this into Canvas..!"
💬"Keeping the option to hold to skip is important for the user to remain in control."
I then added interaction to my high fidelity screens bringing my product to life and providing a sense of how the interaction may feel to actually use.
Users add their tasks through a simple yet flexible Task Creation interface, populating their tasks screen.
Users can switch between the 'due today' and 'all tasks' tab, as well as check off subtasks.
Users can set a timer for themselves to complete tasks, with breaks in between.
Users can also complete tasks by checking off subtasks during Concentration.
Stats are also viewable, showcasing tasks completed as well as time concentrated.
With a functional prototype, I looked to evaluate the effectiveness of my design through semi-structured usability tests as well as guerilla testing sessions. Tests ranged from informal conversations while showcasing the app, to a semi-structured usability test complete with post-test questions.
Overall feedback was positive, with users even expressing how cool it would be to see Tranquility develop into a real application.
👍"I would say it was pretty straightforward, the experience is in line with what I expected of a productivity app."
👍"Likes the colors of the app, easy on the eyes. Likes how simple it is, and being able to use it offline would be cool"
👍"the animations! In a good way!" (when asked: Did anything surprise you about the app?)
👍"I liked that it allowed the user to feel in controland that there was a lot of things you could do on the app"
👍"There wasn't anything where it felt required. Like if I wanted to add tags, I could if I didn't want to, that was fine too"
Of course, there's always room for improvement, which my participants provided insights on.
🤔"Might not wanna have a user profile due to privacy and it’s a bit of a roadblock"
🤔"Not being able to directly end the task." (when asked: What did you dislike about the app?)I also received guided critique from my instructors, providing me concrete direction on how to improve my design.
📝"The add task page has reasonable options, but the page can be made more organized. Partly, the hierarchy isn't very clearly reflected by the elements. You can address this by making each heading more distinctive (e.g. larger, or smaller but bolder font, darker color) from nearby elements and/or specifying the boundary of each sub-section"
📝 "The nav/tab bar feels a bit too compact. It's okay to increase its height a bit."
Guided by user feedback and critique, I made improvements to the design.
The section labels have been redesigned, with a bolder weight, capitalized letters, and a smaller size to give it more distinction
The navigation bar's height has been increased
A button to directly end the task without having to go through individual tasks has been added to the checklist
I've always had an interest in task management, and productivity as a whole, and this case study provided an incredible learning experience for me.
A major challenge with this project was that the task management problem space has been explored by many other products already, leading me to have to come up with creative yet user-centric ways to address my problem statement.
I've learned to incorporate user feedback and testing as frequently as possible, not just when there's an interactive prototype. By fitting in user feedback between as many steps of the design cycle as I could, I ensured that I continued to keep a user-centric mindset when making important design decisions.
In conclusion, this project allowed me to practice my research, analysis, and design skills in an accelerated yet effective manner. I'm looking forward to continually improving myself and bringing my skills into future project.
Designed with care by Jason
